Ziya Meral is a London-based Turkish-British researcher and writer. He is an expert on Turkey, Middle East, human rights and religious freedom, religion and violent conflict, defence and security issues. He regularly gives talks and lectures in leading academic institutions and conferences. He spoke at briefings and events at the UK House of Commons and House of Lords and the U.S. Congress. During 2010–2011, he was a Joseph Crapa Fellow at the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)- a federal body that produces policy proposals for the US government, researching on prevention of ethno-religious violence. He is a Senior Resident Fellow at the UK Army's new independent think-tank, the Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research, based at the Royal Military Academy